Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha
The residents and business owners at Bida Street, Onitsha, Anambra State are still counting their losses following a devastating flood that has destroyed buildings, household property, goods, computers, printers and other belongings worth N500 million.
Although no life was lost, three persons sustained various degrees of injuries in the incident, which was caused by heavy rains. Those injured were rescued from the flood after they had been submerged. About 30 children were also rescued.
The worst hit houses in Bida Street include those on numbers 92, 94, 96, 98 and 100. Floodwaters overran homes, pulling down their fences, shops and business centres and carted away household belongings, cash, and foodstuff, among others.
One of those that sustained injuries, Mrs Gladys Agwu who resided at No. 98 said she was trapped in the flood that submerged the building. She explained that while attempting to swim out of the floodwaters, part of the fence fell and hit her legs.
She said she escaped by the whiskers and noted that all her belongings were destroyed. She called on the government to come to their aid.
Another woman Mrs Joy Eze who was rescued by youths when she was trapped inside the house, thanked God for sparing her life.
“I was in my apartment when the rain started falling.” She recalled. “After some time, I heard a sound and all of a sudden I saw floodwater entering my rooms with force. That was when the flood pulled down our fence. My entrance gate was locked and I was inside.
“So, I had to move closer to the window, pulled the window glass and brought out my hand and was waving it and shouting for help. Some boys saw my hand and rushed but could not open the door. They had to break the door to gain entrance and carry me out of the house. That was how I was saved.”
Mrs Augustina Oforka said that her husband was injured while trying to evacuate her children. She said the flood destroyed everything in their house and appealed for intervention from the government to feed her children.
The caretaker of No. 100 Bida Street, Mr Joseph Onyeka said that many souls would have been lost if it was at night that the rain fell, attributing the cause of the flood to the blockage of the drainage system servicing the area. He said that a culvert should be built at the junction where the floodwater would be channelled to the Nwangele River.
He said the surging flood came from Bida by Modebe Junction and forcefully entered their buildings to cause havoc, adding that it washed away their household property and foodstuff.
“The water moved with force, fell our fence, got into all the flats and rooms on the ground floor and destroyed property worth millions of naira. Some people in the house like Mrs Ebelechukwu Okoro, Mr Emeka Nwoba among others did not remove anything from their houses.
“We are begging government and other good spirited individuals to come to our aid. You know that this Coronavirus first locked us down in the house, and as we are about to start coming out to trade, this tragedy befell on us. It is a double problem. Now, we are hungry with our families because all our foodstuff was destroyed,” Onyeka said.
A resident at 96 Bida Street, Mr Gabriel Odoh, where the flood first started before moving to other buildings, said his daughter was submerged for four hours before she was rescued miraculously. She said all the items in the nine apartments in the house were destroyed.
“We don’t sleep here again; we have relocated our families to nearly neighbours. It is only men who come at night to sleep here with one eye opened, ]because if there is any rain, we immediately vacate the place. We are living in fear here and we don’t know what will happen next because the rainy season is about to set in.
“We lost so many things which the flood washed away including pots, food items clothes and other valuables. I lost the money I saved in my house. We are appealing to government and other corporate bodies to help us. We need medical attention because most of us swallowed dirty water.
“A printer in our compound, Chijoke Awoke lost about N2 million to the flood including his printing machines. Another book publisher, Mr Sunday Unogu, also lost over N1.7million to the flood. I cannot quantify the damages we incurred here. Our building is no more strong again because the flood has affected the foundation of the house,” Odoh stated.
Other people who lost their shops and goods to the flood include David Francis, Blessing Fidelis, John Mmereukwu, Jacinta Nnadi, and Fidelia Okereke. They appealed for help to start life again and feed their families.